Law Commons^™

Individual Home-Work Assignments For State Taxes, Hayes R. Holderness

Washington Law Review

The surge in work-from-home arrangements brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic threatens serious disruptions to state tax systems. Billions of dollars are at stake at this pivotal moment as states grapple with where to assign income earned through these remote work arrangements for tax purposes: the worker’s home or the employer’s location? Some states—intent on modernizing their income tax laws—have assigned such income to the employer’s location, but have faced persistent challenges on both constitutional and policy grounds in response.

This Article provides a vigorous defense against such challenges. The Supreme Court has long interpreted the Constitution to be deferential …

Tribal Sovereignty And Economic Efficiency Versus The Courts, Robert J. Miller

Washington Law Review

American Indian reservations are the poorest parts of the United States, and a higher percentage of Indian families across the country live below the poverty line than any other ethnic or racial sector. Indian nations and Indian peoples also suffer from the highest unemployment rates in the country and have the highest substandard housing rates. The vast majority of the over three hundred Indian reservations and the Alaska Native villages do not have functioning economies. This lack of economic activity starves tribal governments of the tax revenues that governments need to function. In response, Indian nations create and operate business …

An Uncommon Carrier: The Fcc's Unintended Effects On Constitutional Use Taxation, Maricarmen Perez-Vargas

Washington Law Review

The constitutional use taxation framework, which regulates the circumstances under which states can require out-of-state sellers to collect and remit use taxes on products sold for use within the state, has not been examined by Congress or the Supreme Court since the 1990s, and then only to reaffirm a rule that had been in place since the 1960s. Since the 1960s, the Supreme Court has held that states can only collect use taxes from sellers that have a physical presence within the state and whose connections to the state are beyond connections via common carriers. The Court interpreted this rule …

Defining And Valuing The Base Of The Property Tax, Joan M. Youngman

Washington Law Review

This article will consider the applicability of the "summation-of-interests" definition of property to the easement question generally, and will conclude that it is preferable to its alternatives in that context as well. The "summation-of-interests" definition in the easement context contradicts precedent established early in this century and accepted by a majority of jurisdictions. However, this precedent is based upon a number of logical errors: it equates property rights with property value, assumes that "property" must be defined as the rights retained by the owner of the fee, and sets the realizable sale price of the owner's interest as an upper …

Constitutional Law—The Scope Of The Commerce Clause In International Commerce—Japan Line, Ltd. V. County Of Los Angeles, 441 U.S. 434 (1979), Laura Treadgold Oles

Washington Law Review

By exempting containers in international commerce from local ad valorem property taxes, the Japan Line Court's interpretation of the commerce clause gives foreign merchants an advantage over their domestic competitors. The Court, lacking alternative grounds for exempting foreign containers from the state tax, concluded that the commerce clause justifies such disparate treatment. Rather than adopting an interpretation of the commerce clause which is inconsistent with its purpose, the Court should have upheld the tax and left the difficult question of international tax policy to be resolved comprehensively in a more appropriate forum.

Issues In Federal, State, And Tribal Taxation Of Reservation Wealth: A Survey And Economic Critique, Russel Lawrence Barsh

Washington Law Review

This article will consider the most important Indian tax decisions, comparing the intended results of the decisions in the context of congressional Indian law with their probable economic consequences. Part II briefly reviews the main factors essential for proper economic evaluation of a tax. Part III critically surveys recent law of federal taxation of reservation wealth. Part IV similarly surveys and criticizes decisions regarding state taxation of reservation wealth. Part V offers alternate resolutions for state-Indian taxation disputes. In Part VI, the article proposes a framework for applying tax economics productively to the problem of meeting tribal revenue needs.

State Taxation—Use Of Taxing Power To Achieve Environmental Goals: Vermont Taxes Gains Realized From The Sale Or Exchange Of Land Held Less Than Six Years—Vt. Stat. Ann. Tit. 32, §§ 10001-10 (1973), Mary Miles Teachout

Washington Law Review

In 1973 Vermont became the first state to enact a tax applying specifically to gains realized from the sale of land. The tax, confined to gains on short-term land holdings and designed to control short-term land speculation, promises to become a new weapon in the growing arsenal of innovative land use measures designed to channel land transfer and development in environmentally and socially responsible directions. This note examines the new Vermont tax, assessing its advantages relative to more traditional land use measures. It analyzes a recent Vermont Supreme Court decision upholding the tax and concludes, as did the court, that …

State Taxation—Privately Held Leaseholds In Publicly Owned Land—Ch. 187, [1973] Wash. Laws 1st Ex. Sess., Scott Dunham

Washington Law Review

In April 1973 the Washington State Legislature enacted the Leasehold Exemption Act, providing special tax treatment for certain leasehold interests in publicly owned, tax-exempt land. This measure was a response to the 1970 Washington Supreme Court decision which held that, in valuing these leasehold interests for ad valorem property tax purposes, the same standards of assessment were to be utilized as were used for valuing taxable property in general. The Legislature chose to apply the court's 1970 decision prospectively only. In so doing, it has placed serious strains on the assessment process. This note will discuss these administrative problems, as …

State Taxation Of Indians—Federal Preemption Of Taxation Against The Backdrop Of Indian Sovereignty—Mcclanahan V. Arizona State Tax Commission, 411 U.S. 164 (1973); Mescalero Apache Tribe V. Jones, 411 U.S. 145 (1973); Tonasket V. Washington, 411 U.S. 451 (1973), Clydia J. Cuykendall

Washington Law Review

Over the years, the policy of the federal government toward American Indians has vacillated between attempts to assimilate them into American society on the one hand and efforts to preserve their independence and cultural identity on the other. Like a pendulum, this policy, as expressed in congressional legislation, has swung from efforts in 1887 to break up the reservations by transferring tribal lands to individual Indians in fee, to the halting in 1934 of further such alienation, and then back again since the 1950s to renewed efforts to end tribal existence. The legal theories and canons of construction generated by …

Taxation—Property—Assessment Of Leasehold Interest In Publicly-Owned Lands For Purposes Of The Ad Valorem Property Tax—Value Not To Be Reduced By The Extent Of Indebtedness.—Pier 67, Inc. V. King County, 78 Wash. Dec. 2d 48, 469 P.2d 902 (1970), Anon

Washington Law Review

Plaintiff, a lessee of state-owned, tax-exempt harbor land, brought an action to recover personal property taxes paid under protest to defendant county Plaintiff contended that defendant county was obliged to follow the long-standing rule that the value of: a leasehold of tax-exempt real property for ad valorem property tax purposes equals its benefits less its burdens, including mortgage indebtedness and rent reserved. The trial.court found for the plaintiff and ordered the leasehold reassessed. The Washington Supreme Court affirmed. The standards used by the defendant county in reassessing the leasehold were then challenged by the plaintiff on substantially the same grounds. …

State Equalization Of Local Property Tax Assessments At Fifty Percent, Anon

Washington Law Review

The Snohomish County assessor revalued the real property in two school districts of the county. Once he had determined the true and fair value of each parcel and improvement, he computed the assessed value by utilization of a 25 percent assessment ratio. The property not included in the revaluation program was assessed at 20 percent of true and fair value. The Department of Revenue ordered the County Board of Equalization to reconvene for the purpose of equalizing assessments within the county. The order required the Board to apply uniformly a 20 percent assessment ratio or to propose a reasonable alternative, …

State Equalization Of Local Property Tax Assessments At Fifty Percent, Anon

Washington Law Review

The Snohomish County assessor revalued the real property in two school districts of the county. Once he had determined the true and fair value of each parcel and improvement, he computed the assessed value by utilization of a 25 percent assessment ratio. The property not included in the revaluation program was assessed at 20 percent of true and fair value. The Department of Revenue ordered the County Board of Equalization to reconvene for the purpose of equalizing assessments within the county. The order required the Board to apply uniformly a 20 percent assessment ratio or to propose a reasonable alternative, …

Constitutionality Of The Voting Provisions In The Seventeenth Amendment To The Washington Constitution, Anon

Washington Law Review

The seventeenth amendment to the state constitution provides Washington with one of the most restrictive property tax systems in the nation. Under its provisions the aggregate of tax levies upon real and personal property in any given taxing district may not exceed forty mills on the dollar of assessed valuation in any one year. Moreover, the forty mill limit may be exceeded only when three fifths of the electors voting authorize an excess levy. The amendment further provides that the election is not valid unless the number of persons voting constitutes not less than forty per cent of the total …

Constitutionality Of The Voting Provisions In The Seventeenth Amendment To The Washington Constitution, Anon

Washington Law Review

The seventeenth amendment to the state constitution provides Washington with one of the most restrictive property tax systems in the nation. Under its provisions the aggregate of tax levies upon real and personal property in any given taxing district may not exceed forty mills on the dollar of assessed valuation in any one year. Moreover, the forty mill limit may be exceeded only when three fifths of the electors voting authorize an excess levy. The amendment further provides that the election is not valid unless the number of persons voting constitutes not less than forty per cent of the total …

The Original Package—A Factor, Not A Test, Anon

Washington Law Review

By invoking the import-export clause of the United States Constitution, plaintiff sought to enjoin the imposition of state personal property taxes upon unsold portions of imported shipments of greenheart pilings and timber. The lumber was stacked in plaintiff's storage yard, according to existing orders or length. Plaintiff contended that each piece of greenheart, bearing identification stamped at the point of origin of the shipment, constituted an original package and was therefore immune from state taxation. The trial court entered judgment for defendant tax officials on the ground that, when imports are inherently incapable of being packaged, the unit of transportation …

Assessments In Washington, Philip A. Trautman

Washington Law Review

The history of the development of cities and towns in Washington, as elsewhere in the nation, is punctuated with problems relating to the construction and financing of local improvements. The accelerating increase of population in metropolitan areas of the state, can be expected to multiply these problems. It thus seems appropriate to examine special assessment principles as an aid to counsel representing private parties or municipalities

The Washington Tax System—How It Grew, Alfred Harsch

Washington Law Review

Since the establishment of Washington as a territory in 1854, the state's taxing system has expanded from a simple two-tax program, adequately serving the needs of its rough pioneer communities, into an involved complex of multiple taxes, limited and confined either within a rigid and strictly construed constitutional framework or by the outer limits of economic and political feasibility. Whatever may be one's belief with respect to the desirable extent of the governmental activities and services of the state and its many subdivisions, there can be no denying the proposition that the state's existing revenue system creaks, groans, and mightily …

A Projection Of Washington's Financial Needs, George A. Shipman

Washington Law Review

This is a projection of the financial needs of the State of Washington over the next three biennial periods. It is intended to serve the practical need of observing current issues of state appropriations and financing in terms of apparent short-range trends. At the outset, it should be made clear that this effort is highly tentative. At the time of writing, basic data with respect to the trends that influence levels of governmental activity, both locally and statewide, fall far short of a desirable base for an accurate projection. Also, several possibilities for federal action which directly influence state and …

The Washington State Tax Structure As Viewed By The Consumer, Phillip W. Cartwright

Washington Law Review

In evaluating the Washington tax structure from the view point of the consumer it is necessary to determine what is meant by "the consumer." For purposes of this discussion, the term consumer describes a member of the general public performing in his role as a householder rather than in his role as an employee, employer, or self-employed individual. In his role as a consumer, the individual has a certain set of criteria with which he can render a judgment in respect to his satisfaction with a tax structure. Cast in another role, this same individual may well have another set …

Tax Problems From The Business Point Of View, Phillip Strawn

Washington Law Review

It would seem desirable to begin a discussion of state and local taxes from the business point of view by providing some indication of the meaning of the term "business." A dictionary definition which is pertinent is "the buying and selling of commodities and services; commerce; trade." Thus broadly defined, the term "business" embraces a great variety of activities and organizations. It includes such activities as manufacturing, wholesaling, retailing and the provision of services. It includes such organizational forms as corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships.

State And Local Tax Problems From The Labor Point Of View, Joe Davis

Washington Law Review

This is a short presentation of what is believed to be the representative viewpoint of labor with respect to the inequities and inadequacies of the system as we now understand it. It is not intended to be an exhaustive examination of the taxing system now in use in the State of Washington.

Tax Problems From The Agricultural Point Of View, Chas. W. Hodge

Washington Law Review

The farmer in the State of Washington carries a heavier state and local tax burden in relation to both his net income and his gross return from products and services sold than any major industry not specially taxed. Although specially taxed businesses such as liquor, tobacco, and amusements often carry very high taxes in relation to their volume of business, in most cases all competitors for the market carry the same tax load in the market area in which they compete. While this makes the incidence of the tax hard to trace, it is fairly certain that such taxes generally …

Comparison Of Washington And Federal Gift Taxes, Richard H. Williams

Washington Law Review

Generally, federal gift tax consequences are uppermost in the Washington lawyer's mind when he deals with gift tax problems. Consequently, certain differences in the Washington gift tax law are inadvertently overlooked. Although the Washington Act was patterned after the federal act of 1932, several important areas of difference do exist between the two statutes. The purpose of this comment is to explain portions of the Washington gift tax statute, while comparing and contrasting it with the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. The dearth of cases construing the Washington gift tax statute presents a problem in areas where the statute is …

Constitutional Law—Business And Occupation Tax—Constitutionality, Kenneth L. Schubert, Jr.

Washington Law Review

The Washington court denied the claim of General Motors that the Washington Business and Occupation Tax violated the due process and commerce clauses as applied to its interstate business of wholesaling new cars. The Tax Commission had determined that the activities of General Motors within the state subjected the corporation to this tax on its gross receipts.

Federal Estate And State Inheritance Tax Aspects Of The Family Allowance, The Homestead, And The In Lieu Of Homestead Awards, Donna Berg

Washington Law Review

Petitions for setting aside the homestead or for an award in lieu of homestead are relatively common, and the family allowance is often requested. The availability of family support payments as deductions from the decedent's estate for federal estate and state inheritance tax purposes will be considered in this Comment. Their deductibility vel non for Washington State Inheritance Tax purposes is reasonably clear. For Federal Estate Tax purposes, it appears that the homestead or in lieu of homestead award does qualify, but that the family allowance does not qualify, for the marital deduction.

State And Local Taxation—County-Imposed Real Estate Sales Tax—Applicabilty To Corporate Transfers In Dissolution, Gordon G. Conger

Washington Law Review

Extending the reasoning in Deer Park Pine Indus., Inc. v. Stevens County, Doric Co. v. King County holds that a distribution of a dissolved corporation's sole asset to its sole shareholder, who does not assume an existing debt of the corporation, is not a sale within the meaning of RCW 28.45.050, which authorizes counties to levy a tax on the sale of real estate.

The Scope Of Washington's Business And Occupation Tax, William L. Carter

Washington Law Review

For the privilege of engaging in business activities, Washington imposes a tax measured by the application of rates against value of products, gross proceeds of sales, or gross income of the business, as the case may be. Business is defined as including "all activities engaged in with the object of gain, benefit, or advantage to the taxpayer or to another person or class, directly or indirectly." This is an extremely broad base for taxation and, consequently, this tax has been one of great interest to the legislature, especially in recent years when it has provided considerable revenue for the state. …

Taxation, Max Kaminoff

Washington Law Review

Covers revenue-raising measures.

Tax, Anon

Washington Law Review

Summarizes a case on excise tax on sale of real estate—effect of subsequent rescission and another case on inheritance tax—cash value of insurance policy subject to taxation.

A Study Of State Income Taxation In Washington, James V. O'Conner, Robert E. Schillberg

Washington Law Review

Attempts to enact a net income tax in the State of Washington have been numerous and unsuccessful. Several statutes have been passed which would have levied net income taxes on individuals, and several other statutes have been passed which would have levied such taxes on corporations. However, all these enactments have been held unconstitutional, either under the United States Constitution or the Washington state constitution. As might be expected, there have been attempts to amend the state constituion to make it permissible to levy a net income tax. These attempts have all met with failure, either in the legislature or …